In This Issue: More Summer Activities
1.  Mark Your Summer Events Calendar
2.  Make a Clean Sweep of Your Home
3.  Spread the Good News
4.  Must You Finish Your Leftovers?

Recommended Resources
•  AVKO Multi-Sensory Language Arts
•  Speedy Spanish and Character-Building Books
•  Christian Family Books in Spanish


Greetings,

     In this issue we bring you more ideas for your summer!

     May the Lord bless you and your family for His glory.

Cordially,
The Pat Welch Family, Publishers
Pat, Sue, Heather, Holly, and Brian

The Teaching Home is a home-school, family-run business operated in our home since 1980.

1.  Mark Your Summer Events Calendar      It's time to check your calendar and mark any dates that you won't want to miss this summer! Be Prepared with a Creation Science Viewpoint      If your family visits a national park, geological feature, or zoo, you will encounter evolutionary explanations.      Be prepared with a creation-science view of God's awesome works which show that real science confirms the biblical account of creation and a global flood.  •   Read online "Why shouldn't Christians accept millions of years?" Chapter 2 of the New Answers Book.  •   See "Creation Science Resources for Your Vacations" in the column on the left.  •   Read "Explore God's Creation as a Family Vacation" by Dave and Mary Jo Nutting with information on Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Dinosaur National Monument, Grand Canyon, Mount St. Helens, Mammoth Cave and Carlsbad Caverns, and Niagara Falls. Try a Rock and Gem Show      Has your family ever visited a rock and gem show (often includes fossils too)?  These can be a fascinating look into the beauty of God's creation, stimulation for science study, and just plain family fun.      Most of these shows are free. Find a rock and gem show near you in an online list of dozens of shows all over the nation. Attend Free Outdoor Performances      Check with your local newspaper for a list of free outdoor performances such as concerts, plays, historic reenactments, and zoo exhibits.      This is a great opportunity to introduce children to cultural events that would otherwise be too expensive, or too long, for them to sit through.  •   Take sleeping bags or folding chairs to sit on and snacks that are not messy or complicated.  •   Give your children some background information, or introduce them to the main plot and background of a play or opera, before attending so they can get more out of the performance. Enter the Fair      Contact your county or state fair for entry deadlines and information.  •   Contact your local newspaper or Extension Office (see a list) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  •   See a list of all 50 state fairs with links to their websites.      Submitting an entry in your county or state fair can be challenging and rewarding.      The study and skill-building needed to produce your entry provides motivation and opportunity to hone a life skill, and the recognition can encourage your child.      Almost any accomplishment can be entered.  You can enter your family's favorite cookie, your child's artwork or science fair project, a cross-stitched sampler, a flower or vegetable, etc. in one of these typical categories:  •   Flowers, fruits, and vegetables  •   Needlework, handcrafts, and garment making  •   Baking and canning  •   Collections  •   School projects      There are usually age levels from under 5 years to seniors over 65 years.      There are all kinds of things to see and do at your state or county fair.  If you don't submit an entry this year, go check out the possibilities for next year. ____________________________________________ AVKO (Audio, Visual, Kinesthetic, and Oral) Offers a Multi-Sensory Approach to Language Arts through Phonics and Word Families.  •   Individualized Keyboarding teaches reading and spelling skills as your child masters the keyboard.  •   Let's Write Right teaches reading/spelling as the alphabet is learned.  •   Sequential Spelling builds self-esteem.  •   To Teach a Dyslexic is the readable and enjoyable autobiography of Don McCabe, a dyslexic who has become a widely recognized expert on dyslexia and head of AVKO.      To try it before you buy it or for information on dyslexia, visit our website. Complimentary samples and downloads. www.spelling.org/homeschooling.htm / 1-866-285-612 ____________________________________________ 2.  Make a Clean Sweep of Your Home Dejunk Your Home with the Four Box Method      What can you do this summer to make things a whole lot easier for you all year long? Dejunk your house!      The "Four-Box Dejunking Method" below is recommended by many experts to help you identify and dispose of clutter.  •   Get four boxes and label them:  1) Throw Away,  2) Give Away or Sell,  3) Storage,  and 4) Put Away.  •   Make a decision about each item you pick up and place it in the correct box.  •   Schedule time before you stop working each day to appropriately dispose of box contents.      In Newsletter #128, read more about becoming motivated to get your house in order, planning your decluttering strategies, finding a place for everything, and learning how to keep clutter out of your home.      See "Yard Sale Tips: How To Organize a Garage Sale." Finish Up with "Spring Cleaning"      Because of school schedules, a thorough house cleaning from attic to basement may be easier for homeschoolers to do during the summer than the spring.  •   You might want to set aside a week or a full or partial day each week for cleaning until it is done.  •   As you clean, continue using the 4-box method of getting rid of clutter.  Read tips about cutting clutter at organizedhome.com.  •   Find professional cleaning products and notes on how to use them at Don Aslett's Cleanreport.com.  •   Clean each room and and deal with each and every item, nook, and cranny.  See a week-by-week, room-by-room cleaning plan.  •   Clean as a team. Assign each member of your family a chore (some may want to specialize) and see how much more you can do working together.      Celebrate when done! ____________________________________________ Speedy Spanish (Christian Course) and Books That Teach and Build Character      Speedy Spanish Courses offer you a compact, Christian, easy-to-use curriculum for grades 3-12.      Exercises, games, Bible verses, and songs make this a fast, fun way to learn Spanish. Self-teaching cassettes or CDs are available.      Also from Bechtel Books at www.Speedy-Spanish.com:  •   Many teaching aids for pre-K through teens.  •   Devotional, missionary, puzzle, coloring, and story books. ____________________________________________ 3.  Spread the Good News      Opportunities to share the good news of salvation are available in some unique ways during the summer!  •   Pray that the Lord will direct you to a ministry and bring people into your life that you can witness to — and He will!  •   Help with your church's Vacation Bible School.  •   Teach a one-week neighborhood Bible class in your backyard with songs, verses, and Bible stories, such as Jesus: My Savior and Friend, five evangelistic flashcard Bible lessons from Child Evangelism Fellowship.  •   Help man an evangelistic booth at a fair.  (Check opportunities with Amazing Grace Mission.  •   Use tracts to spread the Gospel. Read tips on why and how to use tracts online by Dan Southern, president, American Tract Society.  •   Order tracts such as patriotic tracts; "God's Simple Plan of Salvation" (in many languages); and free Gospels of John (available from the Pocket Testament League in several translations with the plan of salvation included; also Spanish and Chinese versions).  •   Pray that the seeds of God's Word you have planted will bear eternal fruit. ____________________________________________ Reach Out to Your Spanish-Speaking Friends and Neighbors with Books To Help Them Build Christian Families      Missionaries in Mexico, Mike and Pam Richardson, also provide home-school information and support to Spanish-speaking families through Vida Nueva Ministries at www.elhogareducador.org. Now you are able to order a fine selection of books (such as Created To Be His Help Meet, shown above) that you can use to minister to Spanish- speaking families at elhogareducador.myshopify.com. ____________________________________________ 4.  Must You Finish Your Leftovers?      Do you need to complete any unfinished studies from last year?  Their relative importance, determined by the level of competence needed, will help you decide what really needs to be done. Level 1:  Acquaintance      Some subject matter requires only an acquaintance, especially if it will be repeated at a higher level another year (e.g. elementary science or history books)  •   Read the material together like you would a storybook. Level 2:  Understanding      Some information needs to be more thoroughly understood before the next level is studied or in order to relate it to other subjects.  •   Read and discuss the material together, referring to a globe, map, or timeline, but skipping assignments and tests. Level 3:  Mastery      Some essential and basic information requires instant recall to continue to higher levels.  Examples:  math facts and operations; rules of phonics, spelling, and grammar; definitions, processes, and formulas; major eras and events on a timeline.  •   Review and Drill.  Buy or make your own fact sheets or flash cards which contain the kernels of information to be remembered in a subject. See Newsletter #184 for suggestions for incorporating a short study or review time in the basics each day.      Remember that information is repeated at a higher level every few years in most curriculum's scope and sequence, such as the following:  •   A Beka Scope and Sequence  •   Bob Jones University Press Scope and Sequence      So . . . decide if and how you need to finish anything, and then don't worry about the rest! ____________________________________________ FREE Reprints     We want to help as many families as possible to teach and train their children for the Lord's glory. »  Please help us to help other families by sharing this entire newsletter, or individual articles. •  Forward to your friends and support group. •  Reprint in an e-mail or print publication. •  Post online. »  Please observe our copyright: 1.  Do not change the wording. 2.  Include "by Cindy Short and Sue Welch" (or other author). 3.  Add: "Copyright 2007 by www.TeachingHome.com. Reprinted by permission." ________________________ »  To advertise in this newsletter, request information.

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